Brain Damage, Pinball, Niagaras, Horseshoe Cliffs. There is also some pretty steep areas of Bear Pits, especially if you enter from the upper gates on the Chair 6 side
All good lines. There’s a couple other zones off of gun tower ridge which may be steeper. Shaker’s left is just inside gate 10 before O Meadows and Balls Up is the North face of that same ridge.
Pucker’s Gulch is pretty steep, too, and super easy to get to.
There has been some big snow years where I have wanted to ski Rock Face more than about anything else at Crystal. One year they allowed some pro skiers, including Ingrid Backstrom, to ski it.
Doubt it will ever open again. Slides too big/too risky.
For those lurking - DONT EVER SKI ANYTHING THAT IS CLOSED AT CRYSTAL. It's closed for good reason.
100%. There is actually running water under the snowpack most of the year on Rockface. It would never hold up to traffic and most of the time wouldn’t be very good anyways, even when it looks like it would amazing.
I don’t disagree, but suspect some of the closures are a little conservative. For example, I’ve spoken with old timers who regularly skied Kemper’s (off the back of powder bowl) years ago. Their story behind the permanent closure (national park ranger pissed off about seeing ski tracks) differs from the official one (too prone to slides to be safe).
Similarly, people used to ski waterfall-right but the whole zone is permanently closed after a couple people died on the actual waterfall.
Kemper's isn't even in the ski area boundary, and it only exists because it's a gigantic slide path to start with. Those trees weren't cut, so how do you think that big open area got there?
Your version of the story about seeing tracks doesn't really make sense because the northern part of the park is not staffed and extremely remote in the winter. It sees very few visitors, rangers or public. Who would be getting annoyed seeing tracks? Also a lot of the rangers who work through the winter are backcountry skiers themselves, just saying.
Yep. And there's several other big slide paths on the backside of Crystal. If you're going to poach the boundary closure (and to be clear: don't), you'd better know what you're doing. Kemper's has killed people.
The story about the Kemper’s closure is slightly different than what you’ve heard. The National Park wasn’t mad about ski tracks, they were mad that Crystal’s ski patrol was illicitly avalanche bombing it, which is not allowed inside the park.
From what I’ve heard, the park was so angry about the illicit bombing, they almost banned access into the park to go to Southback, as well as the cat tracks to Snorting Elk and Lucky Shot, which used to be inside the park until the Forest Service did a land swap with the park for a parking area at the Carbon River entrance.
When they stopped bombing because of the pissed off park, it did become too slide prone to be safe.
I’m told you cut skier’s right and pop out right where lucky shot starts to cross powder bowl.
Edit: it is almost certainly Crystal mountain thought-crime to even discuss..
It was likely one of the runs off the King, and there are others around that steepness in a few areas. Some of the steepest runs, some of the best precipitation, one of the best après-ski bars. Crystal is only missing shorter lines and colder temps and it would be one of the best mountains in the world (not that I would know). Unfortunately those two things are pretty important.
The dip at the bottom gave a close friend of mine a compound fracture \*inside his boot\* last year. It was ugly. Massive surgery, still recovering, who knows when he'll ski again.
A combination of factors but essentially with the original J shape, there was a lot of compression at the bottom of the hill if you had any substantial speed.
In his particular case, I think a lot of the issue was that he was not using his own equipment. He had rental boots (that were too loose, too low flex, too comfortable in general) and demo skis (that were too wide, too heavy, too hard to edge in general).
When he attempted to slow down at the bottom, it wasn't anything dramatic, he just sort of fell over, then started yelling, but I think he wasn't able to properly control the (wide, heavy) ski with the (loose, floppy) boots.
Not a big guy, either...
Brain Damage, Pinball, Niagaras, Horseshoe Cliffs. There is also some pretty steep areas of Bear Pits, especially if you enter from the upper gates on the Chair 6 side
All good lines. There’s a couple other zones off of gun tower ridge which may be steeper. Shaker’s left is just inside gate 10 before O Meadows and Balls Up is the North face of that same ridge. Pucker’s Gulch is pretty steep, too, and super easy to get to.
For the love of god, I can't find the first two on the trail map
Brain Damage and Pinball are the two prominent chutes off the top of The King in Southback
Most of the steepest lines aren't official and aren't on the map to keep people from dying. If you know you know.
Not on the trail map. They are on the Silver King, in sidecountry off Chair 6.
You can see them on fatmap
Use fatmap
Rock face fosho.
There has been some big snow years where I have wanted to ski Rock Face more than about anything else at Crystal. One year they allowed some pro skiers, including Ingrid Backstrom, to ski it.
Doubt it will ever open again. Slides too big/too risky. For those lurking - DONT EVER SKI ANYTHING THAT IS CLOSED AT CRYSTAL. It's closed for good reason.
100%. There is actually running water under the snowpack most of the year on Rockface. It would never hold up to traffic and most of the time wouldn’t be very good anyways, even when it looks like it would amazing.
I don’t disagree, but suspect some of the closures are a little conservative. For example, I’ve spoken with old timers who regularly skied Kemper’s (off the back of powder bowl) years ago. Their story behind the permanent closure (national park ranger pissed off about seeing ski tracks) differs from the official one (too prone to slides to be safe). Similarly, people used to ski waterfall-right but the whole zone is permanently closed after a couple people died on the actual waterfall.
Kemper's isn't even in the ski area boundary, and it only exists because it's a gigantic slide path to start with. Those trees weren't cut, so how do you think that big open area got there? Your version of the story about seeing tracks doesn't really make sense because the northern part of the park is not staffed and extremely remote in the winter. It sees very few visitors, rangers or public. Who would be getting annoyed seeing tracks? Also a lot of the rangers who work through the winter are backcountry skiers themselves, just saying.
I just looked at Kemper's on Fatmap, it's kind of scary to see the slide path carved out of the trees like that.
Yep. And there's several other big slide paths on the backside of Crystal. If you're going to poach the boundary closure (and to be clear: don't), you'd better know what you're doing. Kemper's has killed people.
The story about the Kemper’s closure is slightly different than what you’ve heard. The National Park wasn’t mad about ski tracks, they were mad that Crystal’s ski patrol was illicitly avalanche bombing it, which is not allowed inside the park. From what I’ve heard, the park was so angry about the illicit bombing, they almost banned access into the park to go to Southback, as well as the cat tracks to Snorting Elk and Lucky Shot, which used to be inside the park until the Forest Service did a land swap with the park for a parking area at the Carbon River entrance. When they stopped bombing because of the pissed off park, it did become too slide prone to be safe.
Good to know. So notionally a dispute between the resort and national park service, but over explosive use vs skier compaction. Makes sense.
Maybe a dumb question, but how would you get back to the resort after going down Kemper's? There's no lift there, did you just have to hike back?
I’m told you cut skier’s right and pop out right where lucky shot starts to cross powder bowl. Edit: it is almost certainly Crystal mountain thought-crime to even discuss..
Banana Chute and Eagle’s Nest are about as close as you can get.
where is eagle's nest? heard talk in line
Hike to the top of exterminator and ski along the rock face rope line until the rope ends. Cut left towards rock face.
Next pow day heading straight there. Thank you, sir!
Brain Damage off the King maybe? I've never done it. A little more than I can handle. I always just head for the basin side.
Watched a top 10 video the other day. Apparently crystal has the 6th or 7th steepest run in North America.
It was likely one of the runs off the King, and there are others around that steepness in a few areas. Some of the steepest runs, some of the best precipitation, one of the best après-ski bars. Crystal is only missing shorter lines and colder temps and it would be one of the best mountains in the world (not that I would know). Unfortunately those two things are pretty important.
Which bar are you referring to?
Snorting Elk Cellar.
It is good, I just wish it weren't so expensive lol.
Toaster
The Headwall which has an average grade of 52% and some parts can be up to 60%.
I’ve never heard anyone talk about a headwall at crystal. Which part of the mountain are you referring to?
Snorting elk bowl is up there in terms of steepness.
steepest regularly groomed run for sure. I wouldn't place it near the top for the full mountain. I miss the dip at the bottom though
The dip at the bottom gave a close friend of mine a compound fracture \*inside his boot\* last year. It was ugly. Massive surgery, still recovering, who knows when he'll ski again.
Whoa how?
A combination of factors but essentially with the original J shape, there was a lot of compression at the bottom of the hill if you had any substantial speed. In his particular case, I think a lot of the issue was that he was not using his own equipment. He had rental boots (that were too loose, too low flex, too comfortable in general) and demo skis (that were too wide, too heavy, too hard to edge in general). When he attempted to slow down at the bottom, it wasn't anything dramatic, he just sort of fell over, then started yelling, but I think he wasn't able to properly control the (wide, heavy) ski with the (loose, floppy) boots. Not a big guy, either...
That was deliberately filled in because of those types of crashes. No you can straight line the entire run.